Living Lutheran: Renewing Your Congregation (Dave Daubert)

(Minneapolis:Augsburg Fortress, 2007. 96 pages. $10.99)

Growing up virtually unchurched, the Rev. Dr. Dave Daubert of Elgin, Ill., was nevertheless baptized by his great-grandfather, a pastor. Not until he was a student at Virginia Tech did he grasp the full meaning of Luther’s rallying cry, “I have been baptized!” Daubert was further blessed on his journey by inspiring teachers, a loving wife and family, and a number of outstanding faith communities. Were this all to report, his story would not much differ from that of countless ELCA members and ministers.

Living Lutheran: Renewing Your Congregation, though, is no mere autobiography, but a concise account of the church’s drift from the center to the margins of postmodern America. Dave now directs renewal in ELCA congregations and in this role his ministry of Research and Development is having direct impact on our life together in the New England Synod.

Living Lutheran is a highly readable, profoundly helpful handbook for your parish renewal. An appendix with group exercises, numerous prayers and discussion helps are all included in its 96 pages. Daubert reminds us over and again how God is loose 24/7 across the whole universe. Because of this, Luther’s wonder and gratitude for the merciful grace of unmerited favor is central to who we are. Yet, ELCA studies in 2000 showed that – despite vigorous evangelical outreach – the ELCA had become an incredible shrinking church body! How to respond? Lutherans know that the life of the church is lived out in the local parish, so another off-the-shelf “program” is not the answer. Among the main insights here are many drawn from the Natural Church Development (NCD) movement, which is already bearing first fruits in our synod.

Churches across the ELCA nationwide have been quietly, carefully examining their characteristics for ministry and then fine-tuning them, starting with the least effective one (the notorious “minimum factor”). Like St. Paul and the Apostles, we are growing strong at our broken places! And this is where Dave Daubert’s growing cohort of teachers, trainers and parish coaches comes in. (Did you know that we already have coaches trained and working with NCD in our synod?) Through scripture, prayer and dialog, congregations are finding their own Lutheran Voices through this kind of holy listening. As Daubert often notes, Christ never offered us a quiet cocoon to escape from the world, but rather a complete immersion in this broken, polluted cosmos through our own living, breathing human communities.

God prefers not to work alone, and we are called to echo this in our life together! Living Lutheran brings us to a new level of understanding our relationship with Christ alive in the Trinity.

Reviewed by Dave Buehler, Transitional Ministry and Pastoral Care

Dartmouth, Mass.

( Read more at Dave’s blog, http://www.yourobdtsvt.blogspot.com )